


Like the Night Sky

by jean_bo



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, M/M, if you know where to look for them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:41:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24084508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jean_bo/pseuds/jean_bo
Summary: Akiteru, if he was being truthful, which he was always trying to be these days, was actually kind of a wimp. But he was okay with that! He’d had years to learn and plan around it.And because Akiteru knew this about himself, he’d had A Plan. A solid one.
Relationships: Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Tanaka Saeko/Tsukishima Akiteru, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 54





	Like the Night Sky

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fawnfiction](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fawnfiction/gifts).



> Special shout out to Sofia for forcing me to: A) catch up to the manga and 2) join this ship
> 
> Congratulations on graduating, fam! I'm so proud of you!!

Somewhere between Tsukishima Kei’s first official tournament match and Tanaka Ryuunosuke’s last official game, Tsukishima Akiteru royally fucked up. Not in any serious outward way. Not in an “I was caught totally lying to my brother and therefore damaging our relationship for a very long time” way either. He’d learned his lesson about that.

No.

This was more of an “I accidentally fell in love with someone I see at these matches and now that her younger brother is graduating I will never get to spend this much time with her again but it’s not like I can confess because she’s so cool and it would be so embarrassing and I’ve known her for years why did I fall in love _now_ when our lives are so different and all we have in common are these matches that are now over?”

Akiteru would be the first in line to tell you that courage is not his strength. Hence, the whole dilemma with his younger brother. And the current one too, he supposes.

(Okay, maybe second in line, if he takes into account Kei’s scary upper classman from last year, the ace who was literally afraid of his own shadow, or so Kei tells it.)

However, that does not take away from Akiteru’s cowardice. Akiteru, if he was being truthful, which he was always trying to be these days, was actually kind of a wimp. But he was okay with that! He’d had years to learn and plan around it.

And because Akiteru knew this about himself, he’d had A Plan. A solid one.

One where he built up his courage game by game like a crow builds a nest. Slowly, he was going to build a steady home for his courage to rest until he needed to set it free.

Karasuno was supposed to win this time. They were supposed to go all the way to the end. They’d been so close. And Akiteru had been so sure he would be able to finally end his days of pining and confess.

Shimada and Takinoue assume his thinly veiled look of defeat is because of the team’s loss and they clap him on the back as Karasuno bows to the stands in thanks.

“There will be more matches,” Saeko tells him, her eyes strong, unwavering, and never leaving her brother’s form, “For Kei,” she looks him in the eye, before continuing to add, “There will be more.”

And Akiteru feels guilt and shame crawl up his throat. Here he is thinking about himself and getting comforted by his friends when it’s _Ryu’s_ last game. When _Saeko_ should be the one comforted.

All he can offer up is a rather small and weak, “I’m sorry.” Which leaves him hating himself even more.

But Saeko smiles and shrugs, “Everything’s gotta come to an end at some point, right? Ryu’s had a great year. He was the best damn ace this school has ever seen!” She proclaims this with a fire in her eye that challenges anyone to say differently.

No one dares to contradict her.

Besides, Ryu was a pretty damn good ace.

Saeko grins at her three boys, and stretches her arms over her head as she leads the way out of the stadium, allowing them to carry her things. The sunshine outside is bright and the four of them pause in the unusually warm fall day, catching a bit of sunshine that somehow only seems to shine a brighter light on the melancholy Akiteru feels in the air.

“Next year,” Saeko says, in a voice that makes it seem like she’s far away and not beside them, “We’ll have Ryu cheering with us and he’s way louder than I am. That should help.” She grins up at the sky and repeats in a determined voice, “Next year.”

“Next year, they’ll see that center court,” Shimada echoes with a nod as the sun glints off of his glasses.

“What is Ryu doing next year, anyway?” Akiteru asks, as he realizes in that moment he doesn’t know. Tanaka Ryuunosuke has been the talk of many game, and after game, and casual drinking sessions with these four. Yet he realizes now that they very rarely speak of who they are outside the ever encompassing net of volleyball.

Saeko grins, the proud big sister, “Ah, he’s going to be a personal trainer, I think. He’s been toying with the idea ever since he started spotting Sawamura-kun on his work outs.”

Takinoue nods along with what she’s saying, “The police academy must be hard to get into if even Sawamura needs to up his workout regimen.”

Saeko shrugs at this, and takes a step forward, “So, who is going to buy my after game drink? Akiteru? You’re buying the first round.”

Akiteru groans as he follows along, “Let’s stop by the pharmacy first. I don’t want to go out to buy you hangover pills first thing in the morning when we’re rushing to leave.”

Saeko laughs and wraps an arm around his neck as she drags the four of them to their favorite bar in Tokyo.

-

Almost a week passes for Akiteru before he starts thinking of a Plan B. In his defense, work had piled up due to the days he’d spent in Tokyo and, quite frankly, he was very, _very,_ far behind.

More time probably would have passed before he’d put more thought into it, if he’s being honest, procrastination goes hand in hand with a weak will, after all. But _Kei_ of all people brought the subject squarely back into the front of Akiteru’s mind (instead of the back where it was a constant low hum underlying all of his thoughts).

It had started off as a normal night, Kei doing his homework at the kitchen table with Tadashi as Akiteru dragged his body through the kitchen door, looking for leftovers. Absentmindedly, he rubbed his lower back and thought about buying a desk chair with more support.

Kei silently pointed to the food on the stove their mother had left for them as Tadashi greeted him in his usually chirpy manor. 

It wasn’t until Akiteru was seated with his meal, unsuspecting of the chaos that was about to enter his life, that Kei attacked.

“When are you asking Tanaka-san’s older sister out on a proper date?” Kei asks, rather bluntly, not even bothering to look up from his assignment.

Tadashi quietly sniggers in the background, never quite as good as Kei at keeping a blanket over his emotions as he waits for the words to hit home.

“I- We- What?” Akiteru finally manages to splutter out, soup going down his airway and rice jerking across the table.

“I thought,” Kei states, shooting Akiteru a disgusted look as he wipes rice off of his notebook, “You would ask after Tanaka-san and I were done playing together.” Kei pauses here and peers down his glasses at his older brother, “Or is there another reason you haven’t asked her out yet?”

“I- I haven’t had the opportunity to yet! Things have been busy with work!” Akiteru defends, trying to wipe the panic off of his face along with the volcano of food he’d choked back up at the initial question.

Kei narrows his eyes at his older brother, “You went out drinking with her on Saturday _and_ Monday.” His eyes are shining with the accusation his flat tone suppresses, “The two of you go out drinking like three times a week.”

“So…?”

“You could have asked her then.” Kei states, pointedly.

“Other people were there too! It’s not like it was a date. You don’t know anything about the world of grownups.”

“I know drinking is equated to liquid courage.”

“You know I don’t drink much.” Akiteru protests.

“I know Saeko-san drinks a lot.”

“She didn’t ask me out either, Kei.” He says with a sigh.

Kei crosses his arms and narrows his eyes even further, refusing to give up, “Drinking also leads to decreased inhibitions.”

“And?” Akiteru asks, frustrated with this back and forth.

“And if you ask her out while she’s really drunk,” Kei states slowly, widening his eyes as if he’s dumbing this statement down for his older brother, “She’d be less threatening _and_ more likely to say yes.”

Akiteru wants to protest that nine times out of ten Saeko is worse when drunk but Tadashi pipes up for the first time since this exchange started, “Drinking also leads to memory loss so if you really bomb, just make sure she gets super wasted! Then you’ll have a second chance at the whole thing.”

Akiteru looks over at this boy, who is also a household staple, with new eyes, “Is that even legal? _Or_ _moral_?” Kei asks with a scoff.

Akiteru on the other hand is seeing a Plan B come to fruition before his very eyes, “You know Tadashi… I do believe I’ve underestimated you. You’ll make a great team captain.” Tadashi blushes and this time he’s the one to sputter, waving his hands around in an effort to both bat away the complement and hide his insecurities. Akiteru nods to himself as a watery plan forms behind his eyes. Who knew sweet Tadashi could be so devious?

The comment wins him no favors with Kei who takes it as an insult to his precious Tadashi and asks, “So are you going to do it?”

Akiteru hums noncommittally and states, “You know, Kei, it’s not easy confessing to the person you love. Especially if you’ve known each other for a long time, as Saeko and I have.”

“Bullshit.” Kei says with a roll of his eyes.

“Tsukki,” Tadashi gasps, “Language!”

Kei starts to roll his eyes again, but stops halfway through the eye roll to look at his brother. He sits up straighter in his chair, “It’s not that hard, you know.”

Akiteru snorts and begins eating his food again, “Speaking from experience, are you?” He grins through his food because he knows for a fact, Kei has never confessed to anyone.

Instead of responding to his brother’s question, Kei shoots him a glare, states under his breath, “It’s not like she even knew you existed in high school,” and turns instead to Tadashi. Akiteru, choosing to ignore that final comment, and assuming his brother is finished with him, concentrates on chewing when Kei abruptly begins speaking again. This time it’s not to him, though, so Akiteru’s about to zone back out when he catches his brother’s tone.

“Yamaguchi,” Kei begins pointedly, pausing, to clear his throat, before continuing with a stout, “I like you. Please go out with me.”

Akiteru chokes for the _second_ time that evening because _what the fuck?_ _What the actual fuck is his life right now? Is this real? What kind of confession was that?_

Tadashi, to his credit, only opens and closes his mouth for a moment before responding with a blush and a soft, “I like you too, Tsukki.”

What kind of acceptance was _that_? What is _wrong_ with these two? Where is the _romance_? This is their _kitchen table._ Akiteru has to _eat here._ How could they _ruin_ this _sacred_ place?

“See,” Kei says, turning to his brother with a look of satisfaction and an air of triumph, “Easy.”

With his point made, Kei clears his brother from his mind and turns back to his assignment.

Akiteru just stares at his brother who is _now holding Tadashi’s hand under the table like it’s nothing_ before picking up his dishes and cleaning them. There’s no way he’ll be able to eat tonight. Is Kei cool? Or just weird? He can’t decide.

As he walks to his bedroom he can hear murmured snatches of conversation between Kei and Tadashi and he’s pretty sure that he’s hallucinated his entire evening because there’s absolutely no way Tadashi just asked Kei why he had to confess like they hadn’t been dating for the last month. And there’s absolutely _no way_ Kei responded with stating that he, _Akiteru_ , was an _idiot_ who only understood when things were _simplified_ for him. Because there’s no way was any of that simple?

Right?

_Right?_

-

Akiteru wakes the next day, a Thursday, with a headache that usually signified a night of drinking and _memories_ that definitely signified a night of drinking. He knows that he did not drink last night. He knows that he hasn’t been truly drunk in over a year.

He also knows that last night had been weird and he’s almost 80% sure he fell into an alternate dimension. Maybe in the other timeline Plan A was able to go off without a hitch, he muses to himself as he gets ready.

He spends the rest of his day in a daze, half convinced last night had been a dream.

When Saeko texts him around noon asking if he wants to drink with her at her place because she’s “too lazy to go out and the people at work are annoying,” Akiteru agrees quickly. Home is the last place he wants to be right now, _especially_ if the whole kitchen fiasco was real (he’s only 20% sure he fell into an alternate dimension now, but still, you can never be too careful).

He’s picking up Saeko’s favorite ice cream, even though it really is too cold for ice cream now, from the convenience store when he gets a text from Kei stating he’ll be, “going over to Yamaguchi’s house after practice,” to which Akiteru responds with, “how long are you going to keep calling your boyfriend by his last name?”

Akiteru feels a little smug at his quality response but he doesn’t get a response from his brother to that particular text. He didn’t really expect one so he pockets his phone and hums the Karasuno chant a little to himself on his way to the Tanaka household, wondering what kind of snacks Saeko has today.

“I brought ice cream,” he says in greeting, letting himself into Saeko’s backyard. The routine has become familiar enough over the last two years that he can skip the formalities. He wanders over to what he thinks of as his chair, beside her, as she tosses him a beer.

“I knew I kept you around for a reason!” Saeko grins, grabbing for the convenience store bag as soon as it’s set down on the table at their feet.

She lets out a hum of approval as she unwraps and pops the ice cream into her mouth. Akiteru looks across the lawn and up at the setting sun so he doesn’t have to look directly at her, his heartrate already increasing. He shivers as the temperature drop and complains, “I don’t know how you’re never cold.”

Saeko grins at him, “It’s because I am _hot_ , Akiteru, duh.”

“Hot blooded, maybe,” Akiteru states in response before almost falling out of his chair to avoid the punch he knows is coming his way. He grins at her, cocky with the success of his escape, as she glares at him before grinning as well, making sure to show all of her teeth. Akiteru edges away in fear, as always, knowing he will regret his words and the pain will be twofold later.

“I hope that little comment was worth it, Akiteru-kun, because you’ll regret it later.” She states coolly, telling him what he already knows as she focuses again on her ice cream, which does nothing to assuage the fear slowly building in his chest. Especially since she added the honorific to his name. That can only promise bad things for Akiteru later.

He’s been here for ten minutes and already, he’s fucked. There’s no way he can confess tonight, he thinks with relief.

Looking away from her again, he asks if Shimada and Takinoue are dropping by and she cackles, stating a little too happily, “No shields for you tonight!” Which means not only will she get her revenge, but Akiteru will have to drink for the other two as well. He lets out a heavy sigh and pats his pocket for the hangover pills he knows they contain as if to reassure himself that the pain will be fleeting. Curbed by alcohol and medicine.

He allows Saeko to nudge him into finishing his first beer and starting his second, the banter between them easy. A conversational road paved by many nights under the stars, both with other friends around and without. He eyes her profile as she tilts back the last of whatever number of beers she’s currently on. Probably her fifth, he thinks idly, calculating the time her shift ended, the rate it takes her to drink one beer, the pace of their conversation, and the mood she’s in. He’s going to have to start slowing her down soon, he muses.

Unbidden, Kei and Tadashi’s advice from the previous night wafts through his thoughts, like the cool breeze that is shaking the leaves off of the trees in Saeko’s backyard. He plays with the idea of taking it, letting his mind wander down the path of confessing to her. But as always, his imagination leads to the only response he can see Saeko giving. A rejection as sharp and biting as the wind.

Besides, it’s going to take way more than beer to get Tanaka Saeko drunk enough for either of their suggestions to be plausible.

Akiteru loses track of time somewhere between his third beer and his fifth and as the night deepens, Saeko shuffles her chair closer to his, snuggling up to his side, taking advantage of his warmth.

“Cold?” He asks softly. She makes a humming noise of agreement and he starts to get up, “Time to go in,” he sings quietly. He’s getting ready to support her weight as they make their way inside, when she tugs him back into his chair.

“Wait. Just a little bit longer. It’s not that cold yet.” He frowns at her. It _is_ cold, he can feel how chilled she is through her thin sweater, but he acquiesces anyway. He’s pretty sure the word ‘no’ isn’t in his vocabulary when it comes to Tanaka Saeko (or Tsukishima Kei, for that matter).

“Don’t blame me when you wake up with a fever tomorrow,” he warns. But he’s had enough beer where it doesn’t seem like a serious issue and he’s always been a lightweight so he quickly forgets what he was so worried about in the first place.

“It’ll be fine,” she says, voice muffled by the arm she’s currently using as a pillow. Akiteru briefly wonders if a person can hear your heartbeat through your arm, but dismisses the notion because they’ve done this enough times where she’d have commented on the rapidity of it by now anyway, right? Maybe she thinks that Akiteru’s heart has always beat this quickly. Before he can think too much on the subject, Saeko continues, “Besides, Ryu and his girlfriend are in there right now and I don’t want to disrupt them.”

“Ah,” he acknowledges, wondering what time it is and where in the house they would be, “She was the team manager right? Last year?” He scrunches his nose in concentration but can’t think of a name to go with her face.

“Shimizu.” Saeko responds to his unasked question, “Shimizu Kiyoko. Such a pretty name, right? Only the best for my little brother.”

Akiteru hums in acknowledgement, not sure where this conversation is going. Tipsy, and a little unfocused, he looks back up towards the night sky. He’s always liked the sky at night, he thinks to himself fondly.

“What are you thinking of?” Saeko asks softly. They’ve been talking quietly for a while now, afraid to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere built around the cool autumn night.

Still looking at the night sky, Akiteru responds, “I like-” _‘the night sky’_ goes unsaid as a sneeze from Saeko disrupting him.

Instead, he looks down at her face with worry, his free hand coming up to her forehead to check for a fever as the sentence completes with, “-you.”

And they both freeze.

_Shit._

Akiteru immediately begins nervously sweating and shifting away from her so he can free both his hands and wave his arms around in the air as his tongue trips over itself to apologize.

Saeko responds with a laugh that turns into a, frankly, very hurtful, cackle. Before she pulls herself up as well and says, “It’s about damn time.” Then, before he can even truly register what’s happened, she’s straddling his body as her lips are laying claim to his.

He briefly wonders if she’s going to get him sick before he realizes that she is _kissing_ him. Before he can truly sink into the kiss, let it steal his breath as all the romance stories insinuate it will, she’s punching him in the gut (which is actually what takes his breath away that night), taking the hangover pills out of his pocket, and leaving him alone in the cold, dark, night.

A shout of, “I warned you that you’d get what was coming,” thrown over her shoulder as the door closes behind her with a bang.

Akiteru flops onto his back with a puff of air, a little dejected. He’s about to get up and walk home in the now freezing night, but before he gets the chance, Saeko’s back with one of her brother’s jacket’s and another kiss that he knows is better at warming him than the jacket will be.

“I like you too, idiot.” She says against his lips, before she slips back inside.

-

When Akiteru finally returns home that night, tripping a little, a goofy grin on his face, he immediately runs into his younger brother. Kei pauses on his way out of the kitchen with a glass of water to glance at him. With a sigh, Kei hands over the glass before turning back into the kitchen to get a new one for himself. Before he turns the corner, he looks back over his shoulder and states, “Told you it was easy.”

And Akiteru has to agree that it kind of was.

And besides that, he can’t help but wonder in awe, _when did Kei get so cool?_

“You know this means you’ll have Ryu as your brother-in-law one day right!” Akiteru shouts at Kei’s retreating figure. He manages to get a moment of satisfaction out of the slight pause in Kei’s step, the only outward reaction to his statement, before he continues on his way.

Akiteru chuckles to himself, drinks the water, and stumbles to bed on unsteady feet. That stupid grin never leaving his face, even as he realizes that Saeko took _all_ of the hangover pills.

**Author's Note:**

> Someone recommend some angst to me I'm not about the happy lifestyle change I made for this fic.


End file.
